Free Dental Clinic Aims To Treat 1,000

A cadre of dental health care providers will attempt to provide free dental care for 1,000 uninsured patients next month. Organizers have announced the dates for the third annual free dental clinic.

Participants at a free Rhode Island dental clinic last year.

Credit Flo Jonic / RIPR

The Rhode Island Oral Health Foundation says volunteers will to try to help hundreds of patients over May 31st and June 1st on the campus of the Community College of Rhode Island. It's called the Rhode Island Mission of Mercy free dental clinic. The idea is to help poor patients with urgent dental problems.

Last year, 600 dentists and hygienists treated 929 patients at the event. They filled cavities, extracted teeth, and performed root canals. And the oral health foundation says the value of that free care topped half a million dollars. While more Rhode Islanders now have some form of health insurance under Obamacare, dental insurance is still an extra that may be out of reach for the poorest residents.